How to Learn to Play the Guitar

The most burning question of people wanting to play the guitar is “Where to begin?” and “how to learn how play the guitar quickly”, preferably without leaving home, and to fit into the most basic student’s budget. And not as strange but with our portal of learning and self-development, even this becomes real, so today we are starting a new cycle of articles about how to learn how play the guitar quickly at home.

So, to begin with probably reasonable to assume that you can learn how play the guitar only if you have the instrument itself. Well, it’s not very difficult.

Where can a beginner get a guitar?

The instrument (in this case, your guitar) budding musicians can either buy or borrow from not established musicians, fortunately or unfortunately there are a lot of them in our time. If this is the last option, then everything is easy, just play on what you are given.

If your choice fell on the store, then it is possible to become speechless from the number and variety of different guitars. Basically, there are classical, acoustic and electric guitars (meaning the 6-string guitars), and of course 12-string and 7-string. About the classification and variety of guitars you can read more detail in another article.

What guitar is suitable for a newbie?

Generally, you can quickly learn how to play any guitar, but it is most convenient for a beginner of course a classical guitar. Firstly, because of the strings. Classical put nylon strings on, while the other two use metal that will add you more lasting impression in the form of sick fingertips. Fingers will also be hurt from nylon, but not so much.

Metal strings have a high tension. And never put metal strings on the classics, from this guitar will break with time. Guitars with metal, at least have a metal rod in the neck and iron pegs.

And in any case, with the growth of your level, you buy a new guitar which will be more suitable for your already more professional preferences. And this old guitar for beginners, that allowed you to learn to play your first guitar chords will remain for trips and singing around the campfire, or you will throw it into the fire with anger, and will dance on the coals.

Is a learning guitar expensive?

Now we define the price range. At the beginning of learning to play the guitar, there is no point in buying an expensive, fancy guitar; it is enough to purchase the cheapest classic one. Fortunately there are a huge number of companies specializing in the student’s instruments with the low price category.

Necessary accessories for the beginner guitarist

At the same time buy other necessary accessories for the beginner guitarist, it may be a tuner if you wish, or you can download it from the Internet to your computer or app on your mobile device.

Tuner is a magical thing that helps people to tune the guitar without much straining mental and hearing aids, which is just perfect for novice who have little understanding in tuning a guitar.

The guitar will often be detuned and you have to be ready for this, as scouts, or whoever you like. New guitars will detune every 30 minutes, and even more often, but eventually it will pass.

You can purchase a stand under the left foot and the right sitting, but more about that later. It seems that we’re sorted out with the choice.

Basics of the guitar’s structure for beginners

Guitars are nwonderfully, but besides on the stand there is the bottom nut and sound hole in some circles is called “socket”.

Also guitar strings specifically numbered from the thinnest to the thickest, from the bottom to the top. The internal structure of the guitar is not essential, and we will review it in another article.

Correct seating for a guitarist

With playing and even with sitting it all is not so simple, it is necessary to learn even before you learn to play the guitar strings. It is reasonable to assume: what a difference how you sit, the main things – hit on the strings and shout louder.

In fact, you can do so, but my duty is to tell you, and your is to accept or not, and to do wrong, but there won’t be my guilt in this.

The point is that there are a classic sit, which leads your body in optimal position at which the muscles do not overexert while long play, here it is:

The back is straight, the foot on the stand; sit without leaning on the 2/3 of chair. To generate correct statement of the hands this sit is optimal and does not require too much attention.

But basically you can sit, just putting the guitar on the right leg, the main thing with such a sitting is to keep your back straight and the hands in the correct statement and everything will be fine.

Designation of fingers for playing the guitar

For convenience in teaching guitar playing has a certain designation of fingers. Try to remember them.

Also, for the convenience of playing each finger of the right hand has its own string. As shown in the illustration: p-6,5,4; i-3; m-2; a-1; e- is not used in the classical variant, but some involve the use of it. When you play on one string, the right hand plays alternately with fingers.

Statement of hands for those who want to learn to play the guitar

In order to not to hurt your fingers and you really could practice for a long time and learn to play the guitar quickly, and with the development of a skill you could increase the speed of the play, there is a correct statement of the hands.

Statement the right hand of guitarist:

To put your right hand properly, draw an imaginary line straight up from the stand to the body side at the intersection place your hand to the elbow.

Put your fingers on the strings, for example: p-6; i-3; m-2; a-1. Forefinger and thumb should form a “cross” (as shown). Thumb ahead of all other. What does the right hand?

The way the right hand retrieves the sound is called “rhythmic pattern of the right hand.” I’ll alternately record, what strings to pull. To begin with take two simple patterns:

Bass, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, see how it should look and sound on the video.

Bass, 321 (strings are twitched simultaneously). While playing basses are played alternately.

Statement the left hand of guitarist:

When you start clamping the strings with your left hand, your fingertips will hurt. It is normal; the pain will pass over time, when your skin will not harden.

And as one acquainted guitarist of mine said: “Stimulation of fingertips promotes the development of the brain.” I don’t know is it true or not, but it is pleasant to think, that you’re getting smarter too.

In stating up the left hand, thumb on the middle of the neck (across the width). Hand rounded, as if you have a little ball in it. The fingers are placed as close as possible to the fret nut, not flat, but as needles.

Exercise for fast learning to play the guitar:

For practicing of clamping force and accuracy of the hands statement while learning to play the guitar do the exercise “caterpillar”.

I won’t describe, you can see it all in the video. If you have some questions, I’ll answer them in comments with pleasure.

An important moment

According to my experience, on the initial stage you don’t need much time, only 20 minutes, but there is an important trick. It is necessary to do it EVERY DAY.

And here some of you is going to yell something like “where will I find so much time, furthermore every day?” But let’s be honest, any person is able to find 20 minutes per day, someone spend more time even for meals. And how much do we waste on benefits of our wonderful informational age? That’s why I suppose, 20 minutes is possible to find.

And preferably you should avoid such things as: today I’ll practice for an hour, and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow I’ll have rest. In this way you will lose all the useful and remembered during two days of rest.

The thing is that it’s simple muscle memory, like boxers, dancers and wrestlers have. You should train it all the time, but it is difficult only during the first times. So get stocked with patience, eagerness and let’s go further.

Recording of guitar chords for beginners

I think everyone heard a little about the chords. Accord is a combination of several sounds that make up a pleasant harmony. Without guitar chords you will not be able to learn how to play guitar quickly, so let’s consider a graphical method of recording the chords for beginners.

Chords are written on the tables, which usually have 6 horizontal lines denoting the strings and from 3 or more vertical lines indicating the bottom nuts. The strings are numbered from the top to the bottom.

Let’s examine the example of a chord Em: dots are placed where we press the strings, above the first column is writtenfret number, which we put a chord from. Fret number is written in Roman numerals. As you can see the strings are not numbered.

With this we finish our first lesson about the basics of how to learn to play the guitar quickly at home. If you have some questions, write in comments, you are welcome to ask. We’re looking forward for you in our next article from which you will get to know how to choose an acoustic guitar for learning.